Funny Business

As a sign of their support of the House Ear Institute, Tina and Rick Caruso (he's the developer behind such outdoor shopping complexes as the Grove) hosted the nonprofit's 29th annual benefit gala at their Brentwood home for the second consecutive year, detouring the organization once again from the Beverly Hilton and Beverly Hills Hotel, which were standard venues in years past. In the expansive backyard of the Carusos' home, guests sipped Sterling wines and Oronoco mojitos during a pre-dinner reception, and were free to walk the small bridge over the property’s koi pond. 

V.I.P.s and sponsors who donated $50,000 or more had access to the sala, a backyard reception room with an adjacent home theater, where comedian Ellen DeGeneres was on hand for photo opportunities in front of a small step-and-repeat wall or the fireplace.

DeGeneres led a live auction and entertained the evening’s 400 guests with a racier-than-her-daytime-show comedy set during which she expounded on the reasons couples film sex (to see how good they look, or devise a new approach, according to the comedian). DeGeneres performed during a hearing-impaired-friendly dinner portion of the evening, where subtitles ran along two giant screens flanking the stage, apparently impressing the T.V. host, who commented, "Oh! Are they typing what I’m saying?"